Opinion

With Lou Piniella retiring at the end of the season, many Cubs fans might be saying good riddance due to Chicago's disappointment recently. 

The next question is obviously, "Who's next?"

Well, Ryne Sandberg has already thrown his hat into the ring. Sandberg, a Hall of Fame inductee and Cubs legend, would certainly bring big name quality to the dugout and his experience might go over well with the players.

2010 is the first year since 1959 that Pete Rose or Pete Rose Jr. hasn’t either played or managed in a baseball game.

That is impressive that a father and son have worn a professional baseball uniform for 50 years. Pete Rose Sr. may have played the game better, but they both had a burning desire to play baseball.

Pete Rose Jr. is not playing organized baseball for the first time since 1989. He made his only appearance in the major leagues for the Cincinnati Reds in 1997, playing in 11 games and making 16 plate appearances while hitting .143.

After the Mets were swept last night by the Diamondbacks, SNY Mets post game co-host Bobby Ojeda issued several loud criticisms of Mets Manager Jerry Manuel.

Suggesting that Manuel's consistent re-ordering of the batting lineup throughout the season has contributed to the Mets offensive slump, Ojeda then went on to say that he thought Manuel demonstrated a counterproductive lack of confidence in his players.

Ojeda on the Mets recent offensive struggles:

The New York Yankees were elated to get the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim out of the Bronx as fast as possible, after beating them 10-6 Wednesday afternoon.

The Angels got a taste of their own medicine after dominating the Yankees the night before.

The Milwaukee Brewers find themselves at a pivotal crossroads as a franchise.

Unlike most mid-market franchises, the Brewers woes aren't the surefire sign of a fire sale and lengthy rebuilding process. Although there are structural issues with this team that point to bolstering their talent pool by trading some major league talent to this year's contenders. 

I guess yesterday's news involving Lou Piniella ending all doubt and saying he will not be back next year is good news for me. I won't have to write anymore "fire Lou Piniella" columns.

But why is he still in Chicago? What is to be gained by that?

The team he has managed is going nowhere. They have been lifeless all year, and now they are playing for a lame-duck manager.

What is there to inspire them to play hard the rest of the way?

Having missed out on acquiring the services of Cliff Lee, the Mets will turn to the best of the rest among potential trade targets as they look for an in-season acquisition to help boost them to their first postseason berth in four years.

We know they need pitching primarily, so let’s look at five pitchers who the Mets could target in the next few weeks.

Starting pitching is likely still the priority for the Mets, as they would love to acquire a starter so they could move Hisanori Takahashi back to the bullpen, where he’s more effective.

The numbers back that up, too.

Before Rick Pitino was best known for doing dirty, awful things to mid-western restaurant patrons, he was a well-respected college basketball coach. And before that, he was the coach of the Boston Celtics.

Pitino's stay was brief (three-and-a-half seasons) and wholly ineffective (102-146 record, zero postseason berths), but he did leave behind one very famous tirade to Boston sportswriters on March 1, 2000.

It was back in December of 2004 that the St. Louis Cardinals first traded Danny Haren.

Now, here in the summer of 2010, the Cardinals may re—acquire the former highly touted prospect.

Ed Price of AOL Fanhouse is reporting that the Cardinals are focused on Haren and the Cleveland Indian's Jake Westbrook.

Haren is signed through 2012 with a club option for 2013. Westbrook is a free agent at the end of the season.

Those two facts alone point out whose price is the cheapest in terms of players needed.

After last night's loss, Alex Cora got quite upset about some laughter in the clubhouse.

Here is the link to David Lennon's Twitter Post:

http://twitter.com/lenno212/status/19051351500

While none of us were in the clubhouse to fully know what was the joke or why Cora in particular got so offended, there is a concern that the Mets players will be labeled as "playing for the paycheck instead of the win".